Broad impact with an emphasis on business, children and animals

Antonio FinsBusiness Writer

Stocks and sports -- that's how many keep score of H. Wayne Huizenga's impact in South Florida.

The Fort Lauderdale billionaire has been cheered for building Blockbuster Entertainment Corp. and vilified for gutting the Florida Marlins after the 1997 World Series championship. But Huizenga's ties also extend deeply into the region's political and civic circles.

The Humane Society's headquarters was funded with Huizenga family donations. So was the Broward County Central Homeless Assistance Center/Huizenga Family Foundation campus. Huizenga's donation of $4 million is also behind the new graduate business school building at Nova Southeastern University that bears his name.

The companies he has helped found or lead -- Waste Management, Blockbuster Entertainment and AutoNation, along with other smaller private ventures -- have boosted the local economy. He brought hockey to South Florida and while he's sold the Florida Panthers, still owns his first venture into sports, the Miami Dolphins.

"I don't think people truly understand what an economic engine he has been," said developer Terry Stiles.

Meanwhile, his wife, Marti, has emerged as a high-profile supporter of animal and child issues. She is deeply committed to the Humane Society of Broward County. She is a key fund-raiser for various organizations, including the Hollywood Boys & Girls Club.

"She has really taken it on as her own," said Steve Caster, a former president of the Hollywood club.

Wayne Huizenga declined to be interviewed for this article, saying he was worried it would focus attention on some efforts and some people and not on others just as worthy. Those close to him say he is accessible to people and does not operate through a bureaucracy.

John Melk, a longtime friend and business partner, said Huizenga could have settled -- and invested -- in any community but chose South Florida out of loyalty.

"He really had no desire to do anything outside of Florida," he said.

An Illinois native, Huizenga, 64, grew up in South Florida where he started a garbage company in 1962 in Pompano Beach that ultimately led him into the world of Wall Street and corporate America.

Along the way, he has built a wide network of friends and associates -- and helped others develop careers. The list includes former lobbyist Jorge Arrizurieta, now a senior official at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C., Circuit Court Judge Dorian Damoorgian, a lawyer who did work for AutoNation, and Richard Rochon, who headed Huizenga's private investments, which included the sports teams, and is now piecing together his own investment firm.

"I may not talk to him every day, but I still consider myself part of that circle," Rochon said.

Huizenga gets personally involved in causes, often ones tied to economic development, that he cares about. He serves on a task force examining runway space at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where he has invested in a hangar, private jets and helicopter.

The personal involvement has been costly at times.

Huizenga encountered a bruising, failed battle over a second sales tax exemption for Pro Player Stadium and the Marlins five years ago. Huizenga was stung by opponents' arguments that he was greedy for requesting the rebate.

Still, plenty of entrepreneurs and others seek to include him and his fortune in their business plans.

Randolph Pohlman, dean of the Huizenga School of Business at NSU, said Huizenga has been generous with money and time.

"But bigger than all that is the respect, admiration and the high regard that people have for him," he said. "That gives us a lot of credibility."

Antonio Fins can be reached at afins@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4669.